The North Carolina curriculum for English Language Arts, grades 9-12, should promote growth in students' use of language within certain contexts crucial for responsible citizenship, for a fulfilling cultural life, and for economic productivity. The curriculum defines these contexts as communication environments, settings for exchanging information that all of us enter when we need to communicate with clarity, purpose, and care. By teaching specific aptitudes that each environment requires from users of oral language, written language, and media and technology, the curriculum strives to involve itself as deeply as possible in the world beyond the classroom. During grades 9-12, students are guided through a sequence of studies that move from emphasizing relatively familiar, concrete experience to focusing on more generalizable and abstract ideas. The curriculum does not assume, however, that ninth graders should avoid generalizing or that twelfth graders should not continually seek to discern the personal relevance of their studies. Indeed the curriculum seeks to give all students at all levels as full an experience as possible with the most rewarding uses of language. A communication environment includes the following: a message sender, a message, a message receiver, and a social setting with relevant subject matter. To become proficient and skillful users of language, students should understand and demonstrate control of these elements of communication and employ language for different purposes, to different audiences, and in different contexts (why, to whom, and in what situations). They also should develop sophisticated understanding and control of how to communicate by the following strands:
oral language (speaking/listening),
written language (reading/writing),
other media and technology.
Because language is the means by which we construe and communicate most of what is significant in our lives, the curriculum encourages study of language itself as it functions in the communicative environments. Students need to learn about, and develop increasing control of, their language and its conventions as they read, write, speak, and listen; they need to become aware of how different language conventions are used in different contexts.
Competency Goals And Objectives
The high school English Language Arts program is based on the following goals, all of which bring together oral language, written language, and using media and technology. These goals and objectives build upon the sound foundation created by the middle school English Language Arts curriculum, which introduces students to these different types of communication by purpose, audience, and context. Expressive Expressive communication involves exploring and sharing personal experiences and insights. The writer/speaker of expressive text addresses the reader/listener as a confidante, a friendly, though not necessarily personally known, audience who is interested in how thoughtful people respond to life. As authors, students write, speak and use media for expressive purposes; as readers and listeners, they learn to appreciate the experiences of others. Expressive communication is stressed in English I and reinforced in English II, III, and IV. Expressive communication can include personal responses, anecdotes, memoirs, autobiographies, diaries, friendly letters, and monologues. Informational/Explanatory Informational/explanatory communication involves giving information to explain realities or ideas, to teach people who want to know what the writer or speaker knows. The writer/speaker of informational text should be knowledgeable and should communicate so that the audience may gain the knowledge as well as circumstances required. Informational texts often depend on the traditional prompts of who, what, when, where, and how, and can include definitions, instructions, histories, directions, business letters, reports, and research. English I introduces informational communication, English II stresses it, and English III and IV reinforce the concepts. Argumentative Argumentative communication involves defining issues and proposing reasonable resolutions. The writer/speaker is an advocate who discerns the grounds of an issue and convincingly supports a claim to resolve it. The reader/listener is considered to be a skeptic who may become another advocate as a result of the communication. Argumentative texts include advertisements, debates, letters of complaint, editorials, sermons, speeches, letters to the editor, and the senior project. English I, II, and III establish the building blocks for sophisticated argumentation, and English IV focuses upon them. Critical Critical communication involves interpreting, proposing, evaluating, and judging. The critic approaches the reader/listener as an independent consumer who is interested in thinking more keenly about the subject. The critic may establish and apply criteria and may offer new ways of discerning how the subject is meaningful. Critical texts include media or book reviews and essays that provide critical analysis of literature, media, ideas, people, or language. English III stresses critical communication after sufficient background has been built in English I and II, and critique is reinforced in English IV. Literature The study of literature, which includes print and non-print texts, is extremely important in the English Language Arts curriculum. Students should develop a deep appreciation for literature, understand its personal, cultural, and historical significance, and learn how to understand and analyze its meaning and relevance. As Robert Probst, in "Five Kinds of Literary Knowing" (1992), has observed, knowing about literature involves different kinds of knowing:
knowing about self, concentrating on how and why one personally responds to literary texts.
knowing about others, their experiences, and their ideas through literature and literary responses.
knowing about texts, especially elements, structure, and characteristics of literature.
knowing about contexts and how the personal and cultural experiences of the reader influence the reading of the text as well as how the personal and cultural experiences of the author influenced the composing of the text.
knowing about processes of making meaning, including raising questions, remembering other texts, connecting ideas, hypothesizing, prioritizing relevant information, rereading, and interpreting and reinterpreting.
Literary study should revolve around meaningful and significant conversations about the texts students are reading. Students should learn to participate in, not merely learn about, literary discussions (Applebee, 1996). Written and oral conversation provides students a way to explore, analyze, and develop ideas and concepts of literature. Through conversation, students gain control of their own interpretations, the language and vocabulary of the discipline, and the concepts and conventions of literary analysis. Finally, the study of literature should involve the following:
making connections between literature and personal experiences.
making connections between features of different pieces of literature.
connecting themes and ideas in literature.
making connections between literature and historical and cultural significance.
Literary study in high school focuses on building understanding as the students progress through the courses. English I provides a foundation for literary analysis. Students develop an understanding of literary concepts, elements, genres, and terms as a foundation for further study of world, American, and British literature. In English II, students learn about both classical and contemporary world literature (excluding British and United States authors). They build upon their understanding of literary concepts, elements, genres, and terms and apply those understandings to the interpretation of world literature. They examine literary works in a cultural time and context to appreciate the diversity and complexity of world issues. They learn how literature can grow from historical and cultural contexts, including oral traditions and political conditions. They also connect global ideas to their own experiences. In English III, students study U. S. literature, including how the literature reflects the culture and history of our nation. In addition to studying a literary work as being situated in a cultural time and place, English III students also study the connections of themes, ideas, and movements in United States literature across time. The study of United States literature may be organized by literary and historical periods or by a thematic approach, but students should read and understand representative works from the colonial, romantic, realistic, modern, and contemporary eras. In English IV, students study British literature, including how the literature of Great Britain has influenced the literature of the United States. English IV students also study the connections of themes, ideas, and movements in British literature. Study of British literature may be organized by literary and historical periods or by a thematic approach, but students are expected to read representative works from various eras. In English I, II, III, and IV, students learn different approaches to literary criticism. Students should learn many approaches to the interpretation of literature, since no single approach is "privileged." Instead, they understand how different approaches use different perspectives (e.g., historical, cultural, psychological, philosophical, aesthetic, linguistic) to analyze and interpret literature differently. Grammar and Language Usage Grammar and Language Usage is a goal that focuses on students' developing increasing proficiency in the understanding and control of their language, including vocabulary development, word choice and syntax, and oral and written communication. Students should learn how to use effective and interesting language including:
standard English for clarity.
technical language for specificity.
informal usage for effect.
Students should also continue to develop increasing control over grammatical conventions, including sentence formation, conventional usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. Most students do not learn grammatical conventions efficiently through memorizing the parts of speech and practicing correct usage and mechanics only through drills and exercises, with the assumption that students will transfer what they learn in grammar study to their own writing and speaking. Grammar conventions are most efficiently learned when they are learned as part of a practical, functional grammar that:
is concerned with how the language works in context to achieve a particular purpose with a specified audience.
uses a minimum number of grammatical terms and a maximum number of examples. The goals of each course specify the important terminology which students should know.
focuses on grammatical components that relate to meaningful sentences in speaking and writing.
teaches both correct, standard usage and effective sentence sense and style (e.g., the power of dialects in literature and film, the conventions of technical writing).
teaches appropriate usage in the context of the students' writing and speaking, through:
focused, short lessons based on the demonstrated needs of the students.
discussions of the syntax of student-generated sentences.
activities such as sentence combining, sentence imitating, sentence expanding.
self-editing, peer editing and teacher conferences.
Strands
In all types of communication-expressive, informational, critical, argumentative, literary, and in language usage-students will use the strands of oral language, written language, and media and technology. As students become more sophisticated communicators with oral language, written language, and media and technology, they should also become more self-directed learners, more collaborative workers, and more complex thinkers. The ultimate purpose of the English Language Arts curriculum is to teach students the language abilities they need to communicate effectively, in all three strands, as individuals and as members of society. High school students need continued instruction and extended guided practice in the skills of oral language for formal and informal speaking situations, including public, small group, and personal settings; they should identify and use effective strategies to articulate ideas clearly, precisely, accurately, and appropriately. They need to learn and practice conventional language usage in their speech. They also need to use different listening skills in diverse situations and for different purposes; they should demonstrate a willingness, as well as an ability to listen thoughtfully, carefully, and respectfully. They should understand the connections between oral and written language, for example how purpose and audience must be considered in speaking and listening as well as in reading and writing. Since effective communication grows from understanding the context, purpose, and audience of the communication, oral language instruction and practice should be infused with instruction in written language and using media/ and technology in all environments. For example, as students learn about and practice communicating individual experiences to a friendly audience through a personal narrative, they employ reading, writing, speaking, listening, and using media and technology to explore personal expression. In written language instruction and practice, students should make connections between their reading and their writing. They need to write so that they consider the reader who will read their writing, and they need to read so that they consider the author who wrote what they are reading. Students need to read and write frequently. They need to read a variety of types of text, and they need to use different types of writing for a variety of audiences and purposes. Students should read widely and deeply in all environments, in all genres and in diverse traditions; they should read for different purposes, including entertainment, and they should be allowed to choose their own texts at least some of the time. In their reading, students should become more insightful as they progress from course to course. They should develop increasing control of how and when to use strategies before, during, and after their reading. High school students should read extensively in all content areas, using a variety of media and texts. Likewise, students need to learn how to use writing processes in all environments. While no one writing process is used by every writer in every piece of writing, students need to understand how to write purposefully and strategically. They need to learn how to generate ideas; to organize and prioritize; to rethink and revise language and ideas; and to edit their own work. They should learn how to use a range of strategies (e.g., elaborating, classifying, describing, noting similarities and differences, constructing scenarios and vignettes) to create a final product. They should provide a sense of organization, movement, and closure. Students should also learn how to present their written work in one-to-one interactions, group meetings, forums, and panel discussions. The focus of technology in the English Language Arts curriculum should be upon learning with technology, rather than learning about technology as a subject area. Students not only are consumers and viewers, but are also active users and creators of media and technology. Communication media and technology can include television, videotapes, radio, film, and computers. Students can access and use a full range of electronic media that can enrich the other communication strands-reading/literature, writing, speaking/listening. For example, students can access Internet and CD-ROM technology in reading and research; they can construct and incorporate visual and audio enrichment such as multi-media presentations, charts, graphs, video clips, audio clips, and photographs into their written and oral communications. They can construct web pages, produce documentaries, or participate in video/audio conferences with peers or experts in other states, even other countries. Students should learn how to evaluate media and technology. They should also be able to create and use media and technology themselves. Learning how to use media and technology thoughtfully is best accomplished by integrating the use of media with reading, writing, and speaking/listening so that students learn how effective communication constantly incorporates media for specific purposes and effects. Once again, students will create and evaluate media/technology in all environments-expressive, informational, critical, argumentative, literary, and language usage.
Connections
While the goals of communication differ in their social context (purposes, audiences), there are elements that overlap. For example, in an editorial that presents an argument, a writer may illustrate a point by relating a personal experience; or a critic interpreting a television show may, for part of the essay, take an informational stance to give the reader some factual background. Thus, the high school English Language Arts curriculum is a spiraling program that is based on strong connections. The interrelationships include:
the study of the expressive, explanatory, critical, argumentative, and literary environments.
the study of language and the conventions of grammar, which both undergird and permeate the entire study of English Language Arts.
the strands of oral language, written language, and using media and technology.
The high school English Language Arts curriculum also strives to involve itself as deeply as possible in the world beyond the classroom. It provides a solid foundation for communicating effectively in diverse contexts for multiple purposes and roles in life-as a life-long learner, a responsible citizen, a concerned parent, and a productive worker. Finally, all goals and objectives are written to include all the strands. For example, in producing narratives, students will need to have read and reflected on narratives written by published authors. Narratives can be oral as well as written; thus students should have opportunities to tell their stories orally as well as listen to the narratives of peers. They may also incorporate media and technology in numerous ways, for example using clip art, interactive media, videotaping, audiotaping, or creating a web page. Teachers should build on the connections and overlapping areas of the curriculum, asking students to find insightful connections, revisit significant concepts, participate in meaningful conversations, and develop knowledge and skills in the context of use. The chart on the following page demonstrates the competencies which high school students should master as they progress through the program. Students in grades 9-12 will continue to show evidence of mastery of competencies developed at previous grade levels, particularly as they contribute to mastery of grade-level competencies.
Applebee, Arthur. Curriculum as Conversation: Transforming Traditions of Teaching and Learning: Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Probst, Robert E. "Five Kinds of Literary Knowing." In Judith Langer (Ed.) Literature Instruction: A Focus on Student Response. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1992. <<Back | Table of Contents | Next >>
STANDARD COURSE OF STUDY
LANGUAGE ARTS :: 2004 :: GRADES 9-12GRADES 9-12
During grades 9-12, students are guided through a sequence of studies that move from emphasizing relatively familiar, concrete experience to focusing on more generalizable and abstract ideas. The curriculum does not assume, however, that ninth graders should avoid generalizing or that twelfth graders should not continually seek to discern the personal relevance of their studies. Indeed the curriculum seeks to give all students at all levels as full an experience as possible with the most rewarding uses of language.
A communication environment includes the following: a message sender, a message, a message receiver, and a social setting with relevant subject matter. To become proficient and skillful users of language, students should understand and demonstrate control of these elements of communication and employ language for different purposes, to different audiences, and in different contexts (why, to whom, and in what situations). They also should develop sophisticated understanding and control of how to communicate by the following strands:
- oral language (speaking/listening),
- written language (reading/writing),
- other media and technology.
Because language is the means by which we construe and communicate most of what is significant in our lives, the curriculum encourages study of language itself as it functions in the communicative environments. Students need to learn about, and develop increasing control of, their language and its conventions as they read, write, speak, and listen; they need to become aware of how different language conventions are used in different contexts.Expressive
Expressive communication involves exploring and sharing personal experiences and insights. The writer/speaker of expressive text addresses the reader/listener as a confidante, a friendly, though not necessarily personally known, audience who is interested in how thoughtful people respond to life. As authors, students write, speak and use media for expressive purposes; as readers and listeners, they learn to appreciate the experiences of others. Expressive communication is stressed in English I and reinforced in English II, III, and IV. Expressive communication can include personal responses, anecdotes, memoirs, autobiographies, diaries, friendly letters, and monologues.
Informational/Explanatory
Informational/explanatory communication involves giving information to explain realities or ideas, to teach people who want to know what the writer or speaker knows. The writer/speaker of informational text should be knowledgeable and should communicate so that the audience may gain the knowledge as well as circumstances required. Informational texts often depend on the traditional prompts of who, what, when, where, and how, and can include definitions, instructions, histories, directions, business letters, reports, and research. English I introduces informational communication, English II stresses it, and English III and IV reinforce the concepts.
Argumentative
Argumentative communication involves defining issues and proposing reasonable resolutions. The writer/speaker is an advocate who discerns the grounds of an issue and convincingly supports a claim to resolve it. The reader/listener is considered to be a skeptic who may become another advocate as a result of the communication. Argumentative texts include advertisements, debates, letters of complaint, editorials, sermons, speeches, letters to the editor, and the senior project. English I, II, and III establish the building blocks for sophisticated argumentation, and English IV focuses upon them.
Critical
Critical communication involves interpreting, proposing, evaluating, and judging. The critic approaches the reader/listener as an independent consumer who is interested in thinking more keenly about the subject. The critic may establish and apply criteria and may offer new ways of discerning how the subject is meaningful. Critical texts include media or book reviews and essays that provide critical analysis of literature, media, ideas, people, or language. English III stresses critical communication after sufficient background has been built in English I and II, and critique is reinforced in English IV.
Literature
The study of literature, which includes print and non-print texts, is extremely important in the English Language Arts curriculum. Students should develop a deep appreciation for literature, understand its personal, cultural, and historical significance, and learn how to understand and analyze its meaning and relevance. As Robert Probst, in "Five Kinds of Literary Knowing" (1992), has observed, knowing about literature involves different kinds of knowing:
- knowing about self, concentrating on how and why one personally responds to literary texts.
- knowing about others, their experiences, and their ideas through literature and literary responses.
- knowing about texts, especially elements, structure, and characteristics of literature.
- knowing about contexts and how the personal and cultural experiences of the reader influence the reading of the text as well as how the personal and cultural experiences of the author influenced the composing of the text.
- knowing about processes of making meaning, including raising questions, remembering other texts, connecting ideas, hypothesizing, prioritizing relevant information, rereading, and interpreting and reinterpreting.
Literary study should revolve around meaningful and significant conversations about the texts students are reading. Students should learn to participate in, not merely learn about, literary discussions (Applebee, 1996). Written and oral conversation provides students a way to explore, analyze, and develop ideas and concepts of literature. Through conversation, students gain control of their own interpretations, the language and vocabulary of the discipline, and the concepts and conventions of literary analysis.Finally, the study of literature should involve the following:
- making connections between literature and personal experiences.
- making connections between features of different pieces of literature.
- connecting themes and ideas in literature.
- making connections between literature and historical and cultural significance.
Literary study in high school focuses on building understanding as the students progress through the courses. English I provides a foundation for literary analysis. Students develop an understanding of literary concepts, elements, genres, and terms as a foundation for further study of world, American, and British literature.In English II, students learn about both classical and contemporary world literature (excluding British and United States authors). They build upon their understanding of literary concepts, elements, genres, and terms and apply those understandings to the interpretation of world literature. They examine literary works in a cultural time and context to appreciate the diversity and complexity of world issues. They learn how literature can grow from historical and cultural contexts, including oral traditions and political conditions. They also connect global ideas to their own experiences.
In English III, students study U. S. literature, including how the literature reflects the culture and history of our nation. In addition to studying a literary work as being situated in a cultural time and place, English III students also study the connections of themes, ideas, and movements in United States literature across time. The study of United States literature may be organized by literary and historical periods or by a thematic approach, but students should read and understand representative works from the colonial, romantic, realistic, modern, and contemporary eras.
In English IV, students study British literature, including how the literature of Great Britain has influenced the literature of the United States. English IV students also study the connections of themes, ideas, and movements in British literature. Study of British literature may be organized by literary and historical periods or by a thematic approach, but students are expected to read representative works from various eras.
In English I, II, III, and IV, students learn different approaches to literary criticism. Students should learn many approaches to the interpretation of literature, since no single approach is "privileged." Instead, they understand how different approaches use different perspectives (e.g., historical, cultural, psychological, philosophical, aesthetic, linguistic) to analyze and interpret literature differently.
Grammar and Language Usage
Grammar and Language Usage is a goal that focuses on students' developing increasing proficiency in the understanding and control of their language, including vocabulary development, word choice and syntax, and oral and written communication. Students should learn how to use effective and interesting language including:
- standard English for clarity.
- technical language for specificity.
- informal usage for effect.
Students should also continue to develop increasing control over grammatical conventions, including sentence formation, conventional usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. Most students do not learn grammatical conventions efficiently through memorizing the parts of speech and practicing correct usage and mechanics only through drills and exercises, with the assumption that students will transfer what they learn in grammar study to their own writing and speaking.Grammar conventions are most efficiently learned when they are learned as part of a practical, functional grammar that:
High school students need continued instruction and extended guided practice in the skills of oral language for formal and informal speaking situations, including public, small group, and personal settings; they should identify and use effective strategies to articulate ideas clearly, precisely, accurately, and appropriately. They need to learn and practice conventional language usage in their speech. They also need to use different listening skills in diverse situations and for different purposes; they should demonstrate a willingness, as well as an ability to listen thoughtfully, carefully, and respectfully. They should understand the connections between oral and written language, for example how purpose and audience must be considered in speaking and listening as well as in reading and writing.
Since effective communication grows from understanding the context, purpose, and audience of the communication, oral language instruction and practice should be infused with instruction in written language and using media/ and technology in all environments. For example, as students learn about and practice communicating individual experiences to a friendly audience through a personal narrative, they employ reading, writing, speaking, listening, and using media and technology to explore personal expression.
In written language instruction and practice, students should make connections between their reading and their writing. They need to write so that they consider the reader who will read their writing, and they need to read so that they consider the author who wrote what they are reading. Students need to read and write frequently. They need to read a variety of types of text, and they need to use different types of writing for a variety of audiences and purposes.
Students should read widely and deeply in all environments, in all genres and in diverse traditions; they should read for different purposes, including entertainment, and they should be allowed to choose their own texts at least some of the time. In their reading, students should become more insightful as they progress from course to course. They should develop increasing control of how and when to use strategies before, during, and after their reading. High school students should read extensively in all content areas, using a variety of media and texts.
Likewise, students need to learn how to use writing processes in all environments. While no one writing process is used by every writer in every piece of writing, students need to understand how to write purposefully and strategically. They need to learn how to generate ideas; to organize and prioritize; to rethink and revise language and ideas; and to edit their own work. They should learn how to use a range of strategies (e.g., elaborating, classifying, describing, noting similarities and differences, constructing scenarios and vignettes) to create a final product. They should provide a sense of organization, movement, and closure. Students should also learn how to present their written work in one-to-one interactions, group meetings, forums, and panel discussions.
The focus of technology in the English Language Arts curriculum should be upon learning with technology, rather than learning about technology as a subject area. Students not only are consumers and viewers, but are also active users and creators of media and technology. Communication media and technology can include television, videotapes, radio, film, and computers. Students can access and use a full range of electronic media that can enrich the other communication strands-reading/literature, writing, speaking/listening. For example, students can access Internet and CD-ROM technology in reading and research; they can construct and incorporate visual and audio enrichment such as multi-media presentations, charts, graphs, video clips, audio clips, and photographs into their written and oral communications. They can construct web pages, produce documentaries, or participate in video/audio conferences with peers or experts in other states, even other countries.
Students should learn how to evaluate media and technology. They should also be able to create and use media and technology themselves. Learning how to use media and technology thoughtfully is best accomplished by integrating the use of media with reading, writing, and speaking/listening so that students learn how effective communication constantly incorporates media for specific purposes and effects. Once again, students will create and evaluate media/technology in all environments-expressive, informational, critical, argumentative, literary, and language usage.
Thus, the high school English Language Arts curriculum is a spiraling program that is based on strong connections. The interrelationships include:
- the study of the expressive, explanatory, critical, argumentative, and literary environments.
- the study of language and the conventions of grammar, which both undergird and permeate the entire study of English Language Arts.
- the strands of oral language, written language, and using media and technology.
The high school English Language Arts curriculum also strives to involve itself as deeply as possible in the world beyond the classroom. It provides a solid foundation for communicating effectively in diverse contexts for multiple purposes and roles in life-as a life-long learner, a responsible citizen, a concerned parent, and a productive worker.Finally, all goals and objectives are written to include all the strands. For example, in producing narratives, students will need to have read and reflected on narratives written by published authors. Narratives can be oral as well as written; thus students should have opportunities to tell their stories orally as well as listen to the narratives of peers. They may also incorporate media and technology in numerous ways, for example using clip art, interactive media, videotaping, audiotaping, or creating a web page.
Teachers should build on the connections and overlapping areas of the curriculum, asking students to find insightful connections, revisit significant concepts, participate in meaningful conversations, and develop knowledge and skills in the context of use. The chart on the following page demonstrates the competencies which high school students should master as they progress through the program. Students in grades 9-12 will continue to show evidence of mastery of competencies developed at previous grade levels, particularly as they contribute to mastery of grade-level competencies.
Probst, Robert E. "Five Kinds of Literary Knowing." In Judith Langer (Ed.) Literature Instruction: A
Focus on Student Response. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1992.
<<Back | Table of Contents | Next >>